This week: Biden administration speaks on Black maternal health; all U.S. adults are eligible for COVID-19 vaccination; Derek Chauvin is convicted for murdering George Floyd; Senate passes bill to address anti-Asian crimes; Biden pledges to cut emissions in half; and more!
Tag: Justice System
Kristen Clarke Makes History as First Woman *and* First Black Woman to Lead DOJ Civil Rights Division
Kristen Clarke is President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris’s nominee for assistant attorney general of the Civil Rights Division.
In accepting her nomination, Clarke vowed to “turn the page on hate and closed the door on discrimination by enforcing our federal civil rights laws,” citing leaders like Thurgood Marshall and Constance Baker Motley as key influences.
Vanita Gupta Confirmed as Associate Attorney General—The First Woman of Color to Assume the Role
Vanita Gupta is President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris’s associate attorney general nominee. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Gupta would be the first woman of color to serve as associate attorney general.
Lisa Monaco Nominated as Deputy Attorney General: Promises “Justice Without Fear or Favor”
Lisa Monaco is President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris’s deputy attorney general nominee.
“The soul of the Justice Department lives in the integrity of its career professionals, in the independence of its investigations and prosecutions and in the principles it brings to bear as it stewards the ideal of justice in America.”
The Time to Act is Now: The Urgency of Ending Mass Incarceration
An ideal world is one in which the perceived harms and dangers of someone’s behavior aren’t met with life-threatening punishment, nor with actions that leave children parent-less. An ideal world is one without mass incarceration, where people are given the tools they need to heal and thrive without imprisonment.
If Trump Were A Woman
If Trump were a woman, we would be hearing things like: “I told you women are too emotional to be president. We should have never let her run.”
In fact, if Donald Trump were a woman, I think it is safe to say we may never have a woman president again.
How a First of Its Kind Settlement Account is Empowering Survivors of Sexual Assault
For survivors of sexual assault, a prolonged legal battle is often a source of retraumatization, and even after winning a settlement, the barrage of new decisions that need to be made over how to handle the money can be overwhelming.
Fortunately, Milestone Consulting created a first-of-its-kind national qualified settlement fund solely for survivors of sexual assault. By structuring payments over a fixed period of time, The Settlement Account empowers survivors to explore their options and tend to their post-trial needs.
Homeboy Industries Offers Hope For Women and Men Caught Up in Criminal Justice System
As many people start to reimagine criminal justice and public safety, Homeboy Industries, an LA-based nonprofit, is setting a powerful example of what the justice system could look like if rehabilitation was prioritized over mass incarceration.
An Effort to Abolish Court Fees Grows in California
In February, the L.A.-based Youth Justice Coalition successfully lobbied the L.A. County Board of Supervisors to vote to eliminate most court-related fines and fees, including probation. Three other counties in California’s Bay Area—San Francisco, Alameda and Contra Costa—have passed similar measures since 2018. But L.A. courts have continued to collect probation fees and other court-related debts.
“We’ve been trying to collect money from people who don’t have it, and they often end up in jail, or harassed or shaken down. We’re trying to fund our governments on the backs of communities of color, and in a post-COVID world, that is just going to be impossible. I shudder to think of the more draconian collection practices to come.”
The Military Failed Vanessa Guillen and Others. It Must Do Better.
Right before her death, Vanessa Guillén told her family that she had been sexually harassed by superiors. She didn’t report it, fearing retribution. Reporting sexual harassment and sexual assaults in the military goes up the chain of command—particularly useless if the perpetrator is a superior.
Since Guillén’s murder was confirmed, current and past service members who experienced sexual assault and harassment have shared their own stories with the viral #IAmVanessaGuillen.